Richard de la Pole

Richard de la Pole
Arms of De la Pole: Azure, a fess between three leopard's faces or
Born	1480 England
Died	24 February 1525 Pavia, Duchy of Milan
Known for	Being last member of the House of York to actively and openly seek the crown of England
Children	Marguerite de la Pole
Parent(s)	John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk
Relatives	Richard III of England

Richard de la Pole (1480 – 24 February 1525) was a pretender to the English crown. Commonly nicknamed "White Rose", he was the last member of the House of York to actively and openly seek the crown of England. He lived in exile after many of his relatives were executed, becoming allied with Louis XII of France in the War of the League of Cambrai. Louis saw him as a more favourable ally and prospect for an English king than Henry VIII.

During 1514, the stage was set for a Yorkist reclaiming of England under Richard. He was in Brittany with 12,000 mercenaries set for the invasion, leading his army to St. Malo; however, France and England made peace just as they were about to embark and it was thus called off. Later, with Francis I as king, Richard struck up an alliance in 1523 and planned a Yorkist invasion of England once again. However, this never came to fruition, as Richard died fighting alongside Francis I at the Battle of Pavia two years later.

He was the fifth son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and his wife Elizabeth of York. His mother was the second surviving daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville. She was also a younger sister to Edward IV of England and Edmund, Earl of Rutland as well as an older sister to Margaret of York, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England. It is unlikely his ancestor was Owen de la Pole: the last claimant to the throne of Powys Wenwynwyn, a 13th-century Welsh princely state.